Vols, Butler share win totals, snubbed feeling

Tennessee versus Butler has all the mathematics of a second-weekend NCAA tournament pairing, but they’ll meet instead Sunday in an unprecedented round-2 clash despite resumes that left both feeling jilted when the seedings were drawn up.

‘I think we both did everything we possibly could to put ourselves in better positions than to see another 30-win team in the second round,’ Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl said.

In fact, two 30-win teams have never met in the tournament’s second round, according to the NCAA.

Motivation or old news? Depends on which team you ask.

The second-seeded Volunteers and seventh-seeded (and 11th-ranked) Bulldogs, both with a school-record 30 wins, surely do have enough to worry about with each other.

‘We left the feelings about the seedings in Indiana,’ Butler forward Julian Betko said. ‘I think what we care about now is which of the teams is going to get to 31 wins.’

Once ranked No. 1, the Vols (30-4) feel they made quite a case for a top seed. Guard JaJuan Smith even had ‘No. 1 Seed’ written on his sneakers for Friday’s game, though all the brackets say otherwise. Backcourt mate Chris Lofton isn’t hesitating to draw on that perceived snubbing for a small dose of extra incentive, and expects a similar attitude from Butler.

It’s one reason why he predicts ‘a grind-out, physical game.’

‘Both teams are playing with a chip on their shoulder,’ Lofton said. ‘We’re out to prove something, so it should be a great game.’

One with 3-pointers flying, a frenzied pace if Tennessee has its way, and battling backcourts.

Tennessee (30-4) vs. Butler (30-3)

Today, 1:30 p.m.